Covid pushed more people to buy from Amazon, Flipkart, others but many of them may not continue ahead

Covid-induced and health and hygiene concerns have not only resulted in an increase in the share of online spends by existing digital buyers on Amazon, Flipkart, Grofers, BigBasket, and other e-retailers, there has been a significant increase in new user adoption as well. First time online shoppers have increased 1.2X during the lockdown in comparison to the pre-Covid scenario, said a survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The increase was highest for food and essential goods category with fresh foods category witnessing a maximum jump of 1.56X in new users followed by 1.43X for buying staples, and 1.32X for packaged foods and beverages showed BCG’s latest consumer sentiment survey of 3,000 consumers from metros to Tier-IV cities from July 20 to August 2. The increase in first-time online buyers was also significant in categories including household care (1.38X), personal care (1.33X), non-prescription medicines (1.29X), etc.